Monthly Archives: September 2014

Remember the days when it was embarrassing to buy anything from Bangladesh? Well, yesterday while in Richmond, Virginia celebrating another year happily tagged onto my birth date, I purchased a ‘messenger’ style cloth bag at Ten Thousand Villages. I am very proud of it! It is exactly what I want in a purse to carry what I need (since clothes designers refuse to give us women pockets in our skirts & slacks, etc.) I was informed on the little tag that came with it, that I am now providing many women with the opportunity to improve their lives. I’m all for that!

It was delightful to getaway for a day in lovely Richmond, learning my way around while poking in here and there and finding the area called Carytown. Charming! It put me a bit in mind of the New Hope, Pennsylvania of my youth. It was truly an artist’s colony before big money chased the artists away.
Can Can Brasserie was my choice for lunch; again, a wonderful choice. The young waiter, Daniel, took good care of me, taking a few minutes to actually talk to me even though by being a single diner, his tip would be small; especially since I wasn’t drinking wine with my meal. I compensated by ‘gifting’ him a sizeable tip. I considered it a birthday gift, thinking it is time I gave gifts on my birthday rather than receiving them.

Can Can struck me as very French, not American French, but fashioned on the real thing. The Lobster Crepe and Arugula Salad (with shaved fennel) were perfect, as was the interior of the brasserie. The authenticity carried into the ladies’ room where a chain hung down from the water closet. Cool!

Here’s a question for those who love to spend time in the kitchen and there are still many of us out there, fortunately. How many times have you come across hand written notes in a used cook book you bought? Or one handed down from mother to daughter to granddaughter or thankfully, today to sons, etc.? Have you written adjustments to a recipe to suit your own tastes? I know I have. The first time I try it their way. After that, I’m doing it my way, altering their recipe and sometimes my own to accommodate a healthier recipe.
Think about the way our Moms cooked 40 years ago and how we cook today. Especially if you have changed Mom’s recipes for healthier ones. That is how tastes evolve, restaurants stay at the top of the list; by tasting, adding more of this, less of that, and changing this ingredient or seasoning for that one. It’s like exploring without leaving the kitchen!
We are lucky here in America where immigrants bringing their herbs and spices with them when they came, introduced us to new tastes; even their fish and meat unknown to us as children. I was 40 before I ever tasted goat and 60 before I tasted kale. We definitely have a melting pot of ethnic foods and I have definitely altered cookbook recipes to suit my own taste. Try it……